sparra

Pronunciation spelling of sparrow, representing Cockney English.

sparra (plural sparras)

1. (London, chiefly Cockney) A sparrow.
   • 2008, Jon Wise, “Double trouble as soap won't wash”, in People:

     Jason dons a screwed-up accent that Madonna would be proud of. While Martine, loved for being a cockney sparra, unfortunately goes posh.

   • 1859, Samuel Carter Hall, The book of the Thames: from its rise to its fall, page 351:

     "Ah ! ah ! the fun was, one of the company said it was as like a sparra as one pea is like another; how I did laugh to myself, for she grew quite offended like, and insisted that this was a light brown bird, but that a sparra was next to black"

• Parras

• spur, spug, spuggie, speug

sparra (plural sparras)

1. sparrow

Borrowed from English spar. First attested in 1924.^[1]

English word of uncertain origin. Possibly derived from Old Norse sperrask (“to kick out”).^[2] However, possibly instead derived from Middle French esparer (“to kick”), from old Italian sparare (“to fling”), from Latin exparare, from ex- + parare (“to prepare”).^[3][4] See also English parry.

sparra (present sparrar, preterite sparrade, supine sparrat, imperative sparra)

1. To spar with someone (when training for boxing or martial arts).

• sparring

• rapars, raspar, sparar